JWU Show Cancelled, Giving Brown Zone 1, Region 1 Championship

Mar 18, 2007

March 18, 2007

The inclement weather in the New England area on Saturday proved to be a boon for the Brown equestrian team. The snow led to the cancellation of the final show of the season at Johnson & Wales' barn in Rehoboth, Mass., making the Bears the Region 1 Champions by 30 points over two-time defending champion Connecticut. The title is the Bears' first since 2003.

As regional champion, Brown will compete at the Zone 1 Championships on April 7 at the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center in South Hadley, Mass., against the other three regional champions in Zone 1, which comprises all of New England except for the southern half of Connecticut. The top two of those four will move on to IHSA Nationals from May 3-6 at the Eastern States Exposition (a.k.a. "The Big E") in Springfield, Mass.

But before that, team members who have qualified will compete at Regionals on March 31 at Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Glades Ferry, Conn. At that show, there will likely be a ride-off for Open Level Rider in the region, as junior tri-captain Whitney Keefe (Wellesley, MA) is tied with URI's Amanda Tustian for the Region 1 lead at season's end. The winner will go to Nationals to compete for the Cacchione Cup as the country's top collegiate rider.

In addition to Keefe, who will compete in Open Fences and Flat, the following riders will compete at Regionals. The top two riders in each division will move on to compete at Zones, from which the top two riders will go to Nationals.